Lets make sure we tell our moms and the mothers of our children how special they are to us. If you are a dad, it is our job to lead by example and show them how important Mother's Day is. Start from the very moment she wakes up to the the good night kiss. This year for example, I had my 6 year old help make breakfast and serve my wife in bed. The look on her face was amazing! And I have more surprises to come as the day goes on.What I wanted to do today is take a look at Mother's Day. Ask anyone what the most important day of the year is to them and you will get answers ranging from their birthday to Christmas to Election Day. How many will say Mother’s Day? Unfortunately, I would guess very few. For some reason Mother’s Day gets overlooked or down played a bit. Yes, there are commercials all over reminding you to send flowers or buy mom candy… but where is the real sentiment? It is so much more than a gift, or saying Happy Mother's day, it is about truly letting our moms and wives know how much they are appreciated and cared for.
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Eight Sleeping Solutions to Help Tired Tots and Their Parents Get Some Rest
Kimberley Clayton Blaine, MA, MFT
If you have a young child at home, chances are good that you aren’t getting quite as much sleep as you used to. But what if your little one is missing out on much needed Z’s? Lack of sleep can lead to bad behavior and what you can do to help create better nights for the both of you!
As most parents of small children know, it’s the Holy Grail. Having a child who sleep well means having a child who is more likely to be even-tempered, easier to please, and more compliant. And a mom and dad who are rested, refreshed, and ready to face the day with their energetic bundle of joy. But let her skip naptime one time and your typically happy-go-lucky toddler can quickly turn into a tantrum-throwing, argumentative, meltdown prone monster. There’s a good reason and there are solutions out there to help lull your little one into better naps and nighttimes.
In my new book, The Go-To Mom’s Parents’ Guide to Emotion Coaching Young Children I discuss how we can better equip ourselves for the most challenging parenting moments; i.e. getting a child to sleep! Children who nap and sleep well at night have fewer behavior problems. Overly tired children can’t appropriately balance their physical and emotional world, causing them to act out and behave badly.
By Kate Hayes
Whether you are taking your kids across the country for a summer vacation, or simply planning a trip to the museum across town, learning to make the most of each adventure can make a big difference in what your preschoolers remember about the experience. And I know that you want them to remember the experience, or you wouldn’t be doing it! In my family’s travels through 15 states with a five year old and a two year old (including a long-distance move from St. Louis to Boston), I have gathered a few travel tips that I’d love to share:
1) Build connections (and excitement) before you go. Don’t you always look forward to visiting a place more when you have some kind of” connection” to it? Perhaps you know someone who lives there. Or maybe you have seen it in history books or in a movie. Being a child of the eighties, I was most excited about my visit to Astoria, Oregon because it was the town from the movie, “The Goonies”…and I got to see the actual house where Chunk did the “Truffle Shuffle!”
Well, put yourself in your preschooler’s size 8 Crocs. They are freshly hatched. They don’t have connections to most of the places that we take them to, unless we provide some for them. A great way to do this is to read a book about the place that you are going to visit several times before you go. For instance, I read the classic, “Make Way for Ducklings” to my kids before we visited the Boston Public Garden and rode the Swan Boats. When we went, my five-year-old daughter was thrilled to see live duck families along with the statues of the ducks from the book. She felt like she already knew them. More recently, we just read “Sarah Morton’s Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Girl,” as part of our preparation to visit Plimouth Plantation.
If there are no books about the place that you are going to visit, let your child look through the brochure or travel guide. Another fun trick that I have tried is letting my daughter cut out pictures of things that she would like to do in the area we are visiting and paste them on a collage. Then, when we actually get to see and so some of those things, she is super excited about them.
READ More on Traveling with Kids: Five Ways to Enhance Travel Adventures with Your Preschoolers
Filed under Family, Kids Activities by
Hey Dads, this article is for us. I have been brainstorming fun ideas we can do for the women in our lives, and the mothers of our kids. Mother's Day is coming soon, next Sunday in fact, and it's time to start thinking of great ways that we can surprise mom this year. Sure, we could buy her a gift and she'd love it, but why not go the extra mile to make her day extra special. Dad and kids can get together and work to make Mother's Day exciting and relaxing for mom. If you are stumped for some good ideas, here are some great ideas to use. Pick one or combine a couple to show mom your love and appreciation on Mother's Day.Give Mom a Spa Day
Plan a Picnic for the Whole Family
Another great way to surprise mom for Mother's Day is to plan out a picnic for the whole family. Just make sure that dad and the kids do the planning. You don't want mom to have to lift a finger to make this happen. Decide on a nice place you can go on a picnic and then get everything together – the food, drinks, blankets, and anything else you'll need. If you can, hide everything in the car and then get mom in the vehicle and keep her guessing as to where you're going. When you stop at the park and pull out everything for a picnic, she'll be surprised and excited. Serve up mom some great picnic food and she'll be sure to have a blast. READ More on Mother's Day Surprise – Ideas for an Extra Special Mom's DaySurviving Spring Break with Your Sanity in Tact by Joy Belle
Young Family enjoying Spring Break Together
Spring break is almost upon us. No doubt your kids are excited about it but as parents, you may not have quite the enthusiasm. Spring is in the air, kids are antsy, and now they are going to be home from school for an entire week. What can you do to survive, with your sanity in tact at that? Here is a look at some great tips, ideas, and activities that you can use and you may just come out alive.
Great Activities for Kids to Enjoy on Spring Break (Keeping Them Busy is Half the Battle)
With some activities on hand, you'll keep kids busy and keep them from getting bored, which is important to your survival. Others you'll be dealing with those yells for "MOM" about every 10 minutes. Plan ahead and get together some fun activities.
One idea is to let kids make some colorful butterfly mobiles, which is great for younger kids and even preteens. Get some colored paper, some markets, some string, and get to it. You can use stencils to draw butterflies or let them get creative and draw their own. Then cut them out, decorate them, and attach them to the string for colorful and spring themed mobiles.READ More on Parenting Tips for Surviving Spring Break with Young Kids!
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Tracing Your Family Tree – Getting Started in Genealogy
Discovering your family history is not only a fun activity, but can help bring your family closer together
I was thinking of great family projects for 2010 and I thought about how great it would be to research ones own family history. For many reasons, it is important to know about your family background. It can give you and your family a sense of who you are and where you've come from. It can also be important because knowing how your ancestors died could have an effect on your own medical history. If you're not sure what you need to get started in genealogy, here are some tips to get started.
First off, you will need to have some basic office supplies available when you get started. File folders can be used to keep any blank charts you'll need; they can also be used to keep your ancestors organized. Start a file folder for each surname you find during your search. When it is too full, you can always separate the information further.
If you'd rather not keep everything you gather in paper form, you can invest in good genealogy software such as Roots Magic 3, Family Tree Maker or Legacy Family Tree 7.0 Deluxe. These will range in price between $30 and $100. You can also find free software, such as Personal Ancestral File 5.2 or Family Tree Builder 4.0.
The important thing to remember is to keep things organized, no matter which method you choose to keep notes on your family members. Be prepared, however, as you may find delving into your family background so interesting that it takes over a good amount of space in your home.READ More on Genealogy – Making Geneology a Family Affair
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Young Teen Girl Counting Her Money
Recently, More4kids did an interview with an author who writes books on teaching children, particularly teenagers about money. You can read the interview here the interview on teaching kids about money with Randy Loren. I have to say that I learned a lot, I also learned a few things that I was doing wrong and a few things that I was doing correctly. While I don't want to take away from the interview I do want to offer you a few tips on how to make sure that your child understands the value of money.
Tip One: Pay Them an Allowance
I know that there are a number of parents out there that give their children an allowance. Note that my tip is to pay them an allowance. I say pay because they need to understand that money has to be earned, it isn't just given to you because you are cute. You can start paying an allowance when kids are 3 and 4. Trust me when I tell you they understand that money is a good thing. So pick one thing that they can do each day to get paid for. It can be making sure all of their crayons are put away neatly in the box. Just make sure the money is tied to a task.
Tip Two: Teach them Savings
You would be surprised at the number of kids these days that do not know what a piggy bank is. It can be an empty coffee container with a slit cut into the top. Teach your kids that saving is important. Start when they are young. In our house, our children are made to split their money into three equal parts. A third they are to save, a third they can spend on whatever they want and the final third is to be donated to a charity or organization that they feel needs the money. Our son donates to the Nets for Africa because it is important to him that kids don't die, and our oldest daughter donates money to different animal shelters because that is where her passion is.
Tip Three: Talk to Them about Money
My husband and I made the mistake of not telling our kids when money was tight. Kids don't understand the cost of living. That electricity costs money, that food costs money and that the roof over their head costs money. No you don't have to tell them how much each bill is and let them know whether or not you are able to pay your bills on time, but they need to understand that there is a price associated to everything that they have in their life.READ More on Parenting Tips: Making Sure Your Children are Financially Literate
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